<Articles>The Authority of the Tenno and the Koki 国忌, the Official Anniversary of the Death of the Previous Tenno, at the Beginning of the Heian 平安 Period

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  • <論説>平安初期の天皇権威と国忌
  • 平安初期の天皇権威と国忌
  • ヘイアン ショキ ノ テンノウ ケンイ ト コキ

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I have investigated in this study the process of the reorganization of imperial authority at the beginning of the Heian 平安 period using the koki 国忌, an annual Buddhist memorial service sponsored by the state for the previous (often translated as emperor). As the authority of the tenno was shaken in the late eighth century, ' the importance attached to the preceding tenno was inevitably reduced. This was a prerequisite of the reorganization. During the reign of Emperor Kanmu 桓武, the Emperor Tenji 天智 continued to be viewed as "the founder of the dynasty" as he had at the start of the eighth century, but the Emperor Konin 光仁 was seen as "the founder of the new dynasty." "The new dynasty" was embodied in the capitals of Nagaokakyo 長岡京 and Heiankyo 平安京. Although it has been argued that the failure to observe the koki in the 10th year of the Enryaku 延暦 era(791)amounted to the exclusion of the Emperor Tenmu's 天武 line or the transfer of the imperial line from the Tenmu to Emperor Tenji, these theories don't seem to hold true. Consideration of Emperor Tenji as the new founder and ignoring the importance of preceding emperors should rather be understood as sharing commonalities with the other policies carried out during the time of the emperor Kanmu. The special feature that set Heiankyo apart from Nagaokakyo was the erection of Toji 東寺 and Saiji 西寺, temples that emphasized imperial authority itself and superceded the authority of individual Tenno. The revival of the koki at Toji and Saiji can be regarded as epoch-making events in the reorganization of imperial authority begun during the reign of Kanmu.

Journal

  • 史林

    史林 87 (6), 719-748, 2004-11-01

    THE SHIGAKU KENKYUKAI (The Society of Historical Research), Kyoto University

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